We had to meet our tour group at 8:30 at a different hostel, so we got up a little early so that we could get our coffee and yogurt first. We were expecting big things from Colombian coffee, but this cup was definitely instant coffee and was not impressive. We got on our bus and circled around the city picking up the other passengers from their respective hostels. The ride to El Totumo volcano was only an hour but our guide was very friendly and energetic and spent a lot of time telling us about the volcano and the local people who operate the site. The volcano is only about 50 ft high and you access it by a staircase that leads to the crater, which can accommodate about 10 to 15 people at a time. According to local lore, the volcano used to spew fire, lava and ashes, but it was turned into mud by a local priest who believed it was the work of the Devil and banished him by sprinkling holy water into it.
We weren't sure what to expect as we climbed to the top and couldn't help but laugh at the pit of mud below. As we climbed down into it, I couldn't figure out how to get in, assuming that I would sink in the mud and be covered. But I didn't have to figure it out since some of the local men grabbed me off the ladder and pulled me in.
This is a very unique mud which somehow makes you feel absolutely weightless. I can't even explain how, but it's literally like being in space. Alyssa and I felt motion sickness at one point because you are just suspended in the mud and can't really control anything. The mud is also supposed to be rejuvenating for your skin and any ailments you might have, so we made sure to get good and covered in it. You can pay $3000 pesos ($1.50USD) for a "massage" in the mud but Alyssa and I were a little creeped out by the idea of some strange man giving us a mud rub down, so we opted out.
After a thorough soak, we headed down to the lagoon to rinse off. Apparently the local women will wash you down for another $3000 pesos, but Alyssa and I adamantly refused them, wanting to wash off the mud ourselves. They were pretty persistent and tried to dump buckets of water on our heads but we just sank under water so that they couldn't wash us. Some of the people in our tour group were not as crafty and one old lady took the swim trunks off of a guy from New York so that she could thoroughly wash him- LOL, priceless!
We left the volcano and headed to Manzanillo beach to hang out for a few hours. I didn't find the beach particularly pretty and the small town where we were supposed to be able to get lunch was run down and had pretty much nothing in it, so we just laid out in the sun and waited for the time to return to Cartagena.
When we got back to town around 2:30, we decided to try and find some lunch. We looked horrible since we had been in a mud pit earlier, but we tried our best to appear presentable. We ended up at this little cafe that I had been eyeing and I got a delicious chicken pesto sandwich- yum! Alyssa tried to order an iced coffee but they brought her a mocha frappachino- not great for a girl who doesn't like milk or sugar in her coffee....strike two for coffee today.
After we got showered, we decided to take a walk around the city. I was having a particularly hard time dealing with the sweltering heat of the city and was trying to maintain a pleasant mood. We went into a few areas of town we hadn't yet been into and the city was really beautiful as the sun began to set. Cartagena is very nice and reminds us a lot of Antigua with its colonial style architecture and delicious restaurants.
We had noticed men selling some sort of drink out of a thermos since we got into town but we finally inquired as to what it was. It was coffee! We decided to get some and it was real coffee but it was super sweet! It wasn't bad, but it didn't make me feel any cooler. It's soooo hot here!
We walked around some more checking out the local cathedrals before stopping to get a happy hour mojito at "Monte Sacro". They had a really nice upstairs balcony where we could watch what was happening in the square and street below. Unfortunately the service here was terrible and although we wanted to get more than one drink, it became apparent that wasn't going to happen. We finally got the bill and left. The mojitos were delicious tough!
I wasn't hungry since I had eaten lunch but Alyssa had not eaten so we set off in search of a good restaurant. As we walked, we came across another bar/restaurant called "El Balcon" meaning "The Balcony". We decided it couldn't hurt to get another drink. The people who worked here were extremely friendly and I tried their local liquor called Aquardiente with passion fruit juice- it was delicious! We also met two girls there who were in language school studying Spanish and discussed our travels with them.
Our quest for a dinner restaurant continued and brought us to "Collage" which was an adorable restaurant that centered around art and chalkboards. Alyssa had a delicious lamb burger and everything on the menu looked great- too bad I wasn't the least bit hungry!
After dinner, we headed to Mamallena hostel to book our boat trip to Playa Blanca for the following morning and then went back to the hostel to hang out and get a good night's sleep.
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